Distraction
by PattiL61
Summary: Hello All! Chapter 16 is up finally! Trying to get back into the groove of writing its been awhile! Hope you enjoy. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Distraction

Chapter 1

* * *

Meghan Riley rode along beside him in the RMP. She tried not to keep looking at him, but she caught herself stealing glances out of the corner of her eye. "I hope he doesn't notice," she thought to herself as she snapped her attention back to the street in front of her.

She thought back to the start of the shift when the Lieutenant had told him that he had a new partner for the shift. Glaring at her, he'd told her to sign out two radios and he'd meet her in the RMP. He also advised her that he was none too pleased about a new partner while his current partner took some personal time to deal with a family issue. She watched him storm off, something - she didn't know what - holding her gaze on him. As he turned the corner, she realized that it was his looks and posture that had gotten her attention - she was definitely attracted to this man. "This could be a problem," she said out loud to herself as she headed to sign out the radios. She'd always told herself that she would never get involved with another cop, but there was no denying that sparks had flown - for her at least.

Meg was new to the 55th Precinct, having just transferred over from the neighboring Precinct after five years with the Department. She'd heard stories about this group - the Third Watch. They were close, looked out for each other. Hell, they were even on pretty good terms with the Bucket Boys across the street. It sounded appealing after being stuck with a partner that had just been looking forward to retiring for the last five years. She wanted to go after calls, stop crimes before they happened - much to the chagrin of her overweight, jaded partner. He was content to just lay low for the entire shift if he could get away with it. She'd complained a few times to her superiors, but Manny always cajoled the brass and nothing ever came of her complaints - nothing except the disrespect and labeling of "trouble-maker" throughout her Precinct.

Her thoughts of that other time were interrupted when she heard her partner's voice. She'd been so lost in thought that she almost visibly jumped when he addressed her.

"I'm sorry, what did you ask me?" Meg asked.

"I said, 'so what made you decide to transfer to the 55th?'," he repeated.

"Oh. My old partner retired and I was looking for a change. You know, looking at the same streets day after day. I figured since I needed a new partner anyway, now was a good time for a change of scenery," she answered, her gaze lingering on him a little longer than it should have.

"What?" he asked, catching the stare.

"What, what?" she responded back defensively, looking back out her window.

"So, where do you want to take dinner?" he asked, shaking his head and changing the subject.

Before Meg could answer, the radio crackled to life.

"55-David, take a call for a group of kids hanging out on the corner of Arthur and 137. Caller states she believes they are gang members and has heard rumors of something possibly occurring some time during this evening," the dispatcher relayed.

Bosco turned the car around to head in the direction of the call. After a moment of silence, the dispatcher came back on the radio.

"55-David, did you receive that call?"

"Driver drives, passenger works the radio," Bosco said in exasperation.

"Oh! Sorry," Meg responded, keying the microphone of her radio.

"55-David, Arthur and 137," she said in acknowledgement. She stole another glance at her partner's profile and mistook his look as irritation at her rather than what it really was - another call involving gangbangers.

"Sorry, my old partner never let me do anything. Anything else I should be doing?" Meg asked him, watching his eyes dart from the roadway to the mirrors checking for traffic.

Glancing at her, he answered, "watch my back and I'll watch yours." Arriving at the destination, he pulled the car to the curb. He threw the car into park, turned off the engine and took the keys from the ignition and put them in his front, right, pants pocket.

Opening the car door, he exited the vehicle, grabbing his nightstick and depositing it into the holder on his gunbelt, and taking in the scene before him all in one fluid motion. Meg was fascinated. He moved like a natural athlete.

Meg watched him adjust his gunbelt and walk around the front of the car to address the group of older teenagers before him.

"Julio! Long time no see. What are you guys up to tonight?" Bosco said, addressing the known leader of this group.

"Officer Bosco! We ain't doin' nothin'," Julio responded jovially, along with grunts of acknowledgement from his crew.

Meg opened the passenger door of the RMP and stood up alongside the car. She started to come around her door to approach the group, but Bosco put a hand up toward her to tell her to stay put and she did. Now, she stood with her right arm propped on the top of the open door and her left foot perched on the lower part of the doorframe.

"Well, Julio. That's not what I'm hearin' from the upstanding citizens of the neighborhood," Bosco said, his eyes scanning the group of kids for any obvious weapons.

Meg stood watching her partner. She couldn't take her eyes from him. Even though he was a little shorter than a couple of the members of this group, she could tell that he had their respect.

However, because of her distraction, she didn't hear or sense the approach of someone behind her.

* * *

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Distration

Chapter 2

Bosco caught a movement out of the corner of his eye at the same time that the gang of kids in front of him tensed up, seeing the same thing. Quickly unholstering his gun and aiming it at the group, he took a couple of steps back and glanced in his partner's direction.

Meg registered Bosco's sudden movement, but not in time to notice the man alongside her as he swung a pipe at her and hit her solidly in the side, knocking the wind out of her. She started to go down, but grabbed tightly onto the doorframe and steadied herself, struggling to get a breath. She tired to grab for her gun as the man brought the pipe back again to take another swing at Meg, but a shot rang out and the pipe fell to the ground alongside the now motionless man.

"What the hell...?" yelled a number of the initial group of kids, obviously alarmed themselves at what had just happened.

"Man, that guy is nuts! Is he dead?" another one yelled out, trying to look over the hood of the RMP to see.

"Shut up! Riley! Are you alright?" Bosco yelled over to his partner, his gun trained back on the group in front of him as he keyed the microphone of his radio at the same time. Meg had disappeared below his view on the other side of the RMP. He didn't get an answer and before doing anything else, he transmitted a distress call over his radio.

"55-David! 10-13 my location. Officer down! Repeat, Officer down!" he finished, making a mental note of the dispatcher's acknowledgement of his transmission even before he was able to release his hold on his microphone.

"Alright, everyone just stay put!" he said, taking steps back around the RMP to get to his partner, the gun still holding the group of kids at bay.

"Yo! Officer Bosco! We got nothin' to do with that! Man, we ain't never seen that guy before!" one of the boys yelled out.

"Well, just stay put until I figure out what's going on!" Bosco ordered them all as he reached his partner, who was laying on the ground, propped against the side of the car, gasping for air and holding her side. He looked quickly at the man lying on the ground alongside her and saw that he was no longer a threat, but reached down to make sure there was no pulse just to be certain.

"Riley!" he said, turning his attention back to his partner, while stealing glances at the group of kids to make sure they were staying put. Sirens wailed in the background, getting closer fast. Help was imminent.

Meg Riley had an ashen look on her face and Bosco thought she was about to pass out. Suddenly, she was able to make a gasp and get in some air, but she held her right arm tight to her side. "Help's coming," Bosco told her calmly, unbuttoning the buttons of her uniform shirt. She was wearing a t-shirt between her skin and vest, so he loosened the vest to alleviate the constriction. "Just concentrate on breathing," he said calmly.

* * *

"Dammit!" she told herself as she lay on the ground, looking at her partner who had just rounded the corner of the RMP to check on her. "You let yourself get distracted," she chastised as she tried to get a breath. She felt the strain of a lack of oxygen in her chest and on her brain, and noticed things starting to get blurry. She felt Bosco's hand at her throat, as he began unbuttoning her shirt and felt the relief of pressure as he unfastened her vest. She was able to get in a breath of air, and the blurriness cleared slightly.

She heard the sounds of approaching sirens and the squeal of braking tires right next to them.

* * *

"Bosco!" yelled Davis as he and Sully exited their RMP, the first to arrive. Another unit pulled up behind them and another from the other direction that was followed by the medics.

"Hold on to those guys, Davis!" Bosco told him, holstering is gun. "I'm not sure if they're involved or not." Davis immediately turned his attention to the group of kids who looked as shocked as anyone at what had just happened.

"Everyone of you, turn around and grab the wall," Davis ordered them.

"Yo! We didn't have nothin' to do with all this!" a couple of them protested.

"Yeah, well, we'll figure out what happened in a minute. Until then, turn around and grab the wall," Davis ordered them again as the officers from the other unit assisted him. The group was disgruntled, but complied.

Sully bent down to check on the guy lying on the ground. He had a single gunshot wound to his chest - right to the heart. He looked at Bosco and then over to Riley.

"You okay, Bosco?" he said, taking in the pale face of Meg as she tried to breathe.

"Yeah. It's Riley. She took a shot to the ribs from that pipe," he told him, looking in the direction of now useless weapon. "That guy's dead?"

"Uh, yeah. A bullet to the chest'll do that to you," Sully said with his usual sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, he was getting ready to take another swing at Reilly here," he said. "Where's the medics?"

"Waiting for us to secure the scene first," Sully answered. "Kim! C'mon over. Everything's secure," Sully called to the medics.

Kim and Carlos ran over with their equipment and Carlos started checking on the dead guy as Kim started taking care of Meg.

"Bosco. You need to back up. Bosco!" Kim yelled to him, trying to loosen Bosco's grip on Meg's left arm. He didn't even realize he was holding onto her until then.

"What? Oh, sorry," he said, backing up a couple of steps to let Kim get in and assess.

"There's no ID on this guy," Sully said, standing up after checking the dead man's pockets.

Carlos had finished checking him for vitals, called for another bus to transport him, and was now assisting Kim with Meg.

"Yeah, well it looks like he hasn't bathed in a while either," Bosco said, glancing again quickly and then returning his attention to his partner. Kim had cut Meg's t-shirt to get a look at her side and Bosco could see the bruise already forming over her ribcage. He also noticed the toned look of her body and quickly returned his gaze to her face.

"She okay?" he asked Kim and Carlos.

"Yeah, she will be. But, she'll be sore for quite a while. She needs x-rays - she probably has some broken ribs at least. They'll check her for any internal bleeding too, but as long as her vitals are stable, we won't need an IV," Kim reported. Carlos had given Meg an oxygen mask to hold to her face and then went to get the stretcher.

Bosco followed Meg to the ambulance and climbed in alongside her, leaving his RMP to be driven over the hospital by another officer.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Distraction

Chapter 3

"Hey, Carlos, let's use the lights," Kim calmly called up to Carlos as he drove the ambulance carrying Meghan and her partner to Angel of Mercy Hospital.

Bosco heard what Kim said and looked over at Carlos from his seat in the passenger side of the front of the bus. He saw Carlos glance into the rearview mirror and then reach over and turn on the emergency lights as if some form of communication had occurred between him and Kim in the mirror.

"What's wrong?" Bosco asked, looking from Carlos back toward Kim and Meghan. He watched as Kim quickened the pace at which she was doing things. She opened one of the cabinets and pulled out some wires with electrodes attached while at the same time adjusting the flow on the oxygen mask that had been placed over Meghan's face at some point during the transport.

Bosco unfastened his seatbelt and climbed through the doorway to the back of the ambulance before anyone had realized that he'd moved.

"Kim, what's wrong?" he asked her looking down at Meghan, who had a light layer of perspiration across her forehead and a very unhealthy pallor to her skin. He saw that she seemed to be having a difficult time getting her breath.

"Any better?" Kim asked Meg as she prepared to administer an IV. Meg shook her head 'no.'

"I'm going to start an IV, Meg. It's just for the hell of it, not because you absolutely need it right now," she explained as she put a band around Meg's arm tightly to raise a vein.

Meg nodded and looked up toward Bosco. Bosco noticed a nervous look in Meg's eyes - even though he didn't know her that well - and squatted down alongside the head of the stretcher.

"Kim?" Bosco said, looking from Meg over to Kim. "What's up?" he repeated his question as he watched Kim start the IV and check the flow.

"Well," Kim said, looking at Meghan and then back to Bosco. "It looks like your partner may have a punctured lung. There's probably a rib fracture that poked a hole in her lung," Kim explained, looking back at Meg to make sure she understood. Bosco noticed a pained look on Meg's face as she winced while trying to take a breath.

"About a minute out," Carlos called back to them and Bosco glanced out the window.

"Bosco," Meg said through the oxygen mask. It was more of a whisper as it hurt to talk and Bosco didn't hear her.

She reached up with the arm that didn't have the IV in it and touched his sleeve. He looked down at her quickly.

"Don't let anyone call...," she started, but stopped when the ambulance hit a pothole. She drew in a sharp breath, but that made it hurt worse.

"Sorry," Carlos called back. "We're here," he informed them and Kim started getting ready to move her into the hospital. She handed Bosco the IV bag and told him to follow them out of the back of the bus.

Meg grabbed for his arm again, but got his hand. "It's okay. The docs'll be takin' care of you in just a minute," he assured her.

"No," she said and squeezed his hand to get his attention. "Don't let anyone call my Mom," she said haltingly through gritted teeth as the stretcher's wheels unfolded with a jolt. "She'll freak."

"Okay. Don't worry. I won't let anyone call anyone," Bosco said, but he didn't bother to let go of her hand right away - at least until the stretcher started to gain momentum and then their hands were pulled apart. He felt something that he couldn't quite place in the grip.

Bosco followed the stretcher into the exam room and watched as the doctor and nurses descended upon Meg to assess her condition. Someone called for a portable chest x-ray; another person called for bloodwork; Kim changed the oxygen hookup over to the hospital's and removed the portable tank at the same time that Meg was being lifted from the ambulance stretcher to the hospital stretcher.

Not realizing he must've had a weird look on his face, Kim put a hand on his arm as they rolled the ambulance stretcher by and said, "She'll be fine. Don't worry, Bos."

His gaze moved from the scene in front of him to follow Kim out of the trauma room. "Yeah, thanks guys," he said absently, turning his attention back to his partner.

His eyes met hers and held for a moment. "She looks scared," Bosco thought to himself. "You're fine," he assured her, not really sure that was the case. "I'm stayin' right here."

She gave him a little wave of acknowledgement with her free hand while she was being worked on. Bosco tried to keep his eyes on her face as her shirt was cut away. He couldn't help but see the rest of her with his peripheral vision, however. He saw the deep bluish-gray bruise forming along her side.

"Jesus," he said louder than he'd meant to and he looked back up to see the alarm in her eyes. He quickly tried to put her at ease with a crooked smile and saying, "Nice bruise."

A nurse then started to pull a curtain to close off the area as they finished cutting off Meg's shirts to get a better look at her injuries. "We'll be a few minutes, Officer," the nurse told him. "You can wait in the lounge if you want."

"Only if she wants me to. Otherwise, I'm stayin' right here," Bosco said, standing his ground and not willing to leave his partner alone.

Just then, Lieutenant Swersky rounded the corner and headed in his direction. "I'm just gonna talk the Lieu, Riley," Bosco called to her through the curtain as he met the Lieutenant just outside of the room, but still within earshot of what was happening behind the curtain.

"How's Riley?" Lieutenant Swersky asked Bosco when they met in the hallway.

"Okay, I think. Medics think she might have a collapsed lung and some broken ribs," Bosco reported.

"So, what the hell happened?" the Lieutenant asked him as they both stepped aside for the portable x-ray machine to be rolled into the room. Bosco strained his neck to try to get a look behind the curtain to see how Riley was doing. He saw only that she was being examined by the doctor and not much else.

"We responded to a call for some possible gang activity. We got there and there was a group of kids hanging on the corner. We just started to talk to them - I told Riley to hang back because I knew this group and they weren't really a bad bunch of kids. All of a sudden, I see out of the corner of my eye, this nut job come up behind Riley swinging this piece of pipe. Before I can get a word our or move, he connects on her right side," Bosco explained.

"Well, I better call her family before they hear it on the news," Lieutenant Swersky said, looking around for the closest phone.

"Lieu. She said she didn't want anyone called just yet," Bosco told him.

"Bosco. I can't guarantee that her name's not out on the news wires already," Swersky argued.

"All I know is she doesn't want anyone calling her Mom. She says she'll freak, or somethin'," Bosco explained to him.

Letting out a sigh, the Lieutenat said, "Alright, I'll hold off for now." Their attention was drawn to the curtain being pulled to the side and the stretcher, with Riley on it, was being rolled toward the hallway.

"Doc?" Bosco said, stepping up to the doctor that had been taking care of her.

"She's stable, but she's got a broken rib that's punctured her lung. We're gonna have to take her to surgery and fix it, or it's just going to keep poking holes. We'll take a look at the lung while we're in there, but it'll probably seal itself. I also want to take a look at her right kidney and other organs to make sure that there's not bleeding from them," he explained to Bosco and the Lieutenant.

"Can we see her first?" they both asked at the same time.

"She's sedated. We had to put in a chest tube and poke around. But, she's probably awake still. Just for a minute. I want to get her upstairs before our next trauma comes in. We got a call about a school bus accident with injuries heading our way," the doctor explained.

Bosco walked up to the side of the stretcher with the Lieutenant right behind him. "Riley?" he said to her. Her eyes were closed and she still had the oxygen mask on. Her eyes fluttered open, but he could tell that she was having trouble focusing.

"Riley, it's me," he told her. "You're gonna be okay. They just have to fix your rib and you'll be good as new. I'll wait until your out of surgery. You want me to call your Mom yet?"

Her eyes opened wider and she shook her head firmly. "No. Don't want her here," she said to him. This time he noticed that her eyes had focused on him and he knew she meant it.

"Okay, okay. Relax. She won't hear it from us," Bosco tired to reassure her. He put a hand on her arm and she turned her arm so that she could grab his hand again and said something he couldn't hear.

He bent over closer so she could repeat it. In his ear, she said, "Don't let her near me. Promise me," she told him and the elevator opened and they started to wheel her in. She looked pleadingly at him and gripped his hand tighter.

"What? Okay, I won't. I'll stay right here at the hospital," he called to her as they put her in the elevator and the doors closed.

"What was that about?" Swersky asked.

"I'm not sure, Lieu," he replied, watching the numbers on the elevator climb higher as Riley neared the OR suites.

"She doesn't want her Mom here. She said, 'Don't let her near me. Promise me,'" he quoted, looking over at the Lieutenant. Both of them had a confused look on their faces.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Distraction

Chapter 4

"Bosco," Faith called as she reached the surgical waiting area, a look of relief on her face.

"Hey," Bosco said, standing up from the uncomfortable plastic chair he'd been sitting in. "What're you doing here, Faith?"

"I heard about it on the news. They didn't give any names so I called the House. They said you'd be down here, but the Desk Sergeant that answered said he didn't know exactly what happened," she told him. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Yeah," Bosco said, shrugging. "It was Riley. She took a pretty good shot to her ribs," he said, explaining the rest of the story.

"Well, it sounds like she's in good hands," Faith said, looking around and seeing only the Brass and uniformed officers hanging around. "Did anyone call her family yet?"

Bosco got a funny look in his eyes - almost a squint, like he did when he was trying to figure out something.

"What?" Faith asked him.

"There's something weird about that," he told her. "Right before they took her up to surgery, she grabbed my hand and made me promise not to call her Mom. In fact, she told me to not let her mother near her," he said, rubbing his hands together as if he felt the tight grip she'd had on his hand despite her injury.

"Really. That's weird alright. So, how much longer do they think she'll be in surgery," Faith said, as they heard a growing disturbance in the hallway. It was a woman's voice arguing with a man - a couple of men actually.

"I want to see her! Now!" the woman yelled out.

"Ma'am. She's in surgery right now. Why don't you come down here to the waiting area - her partner is there," one of the men said, trying to calm the situation. Bosco and Faith walked out into the hallway and saw a woman trying to push her way past the security guards that had followed her up from the emergency room.

The relief on the guard's face was apparent as Bosco walked toward them. "What's going on?" Bosco asked as he reached the three of them, Faith following behind. This woman had drawn the attention of everyone in the area with her noise.

"Officer Boscorelli. This is your partner's mother. She's quite agitated. I tried explaining to her that her daughter was in surgery and she'd have to wait, but...," the guard tried to explain but was interrupted by the irate woman.

"You were with her?! What the hell happened?!" she yelled, focusing her anger on Bosco now. Bosco could smell the stale alcohol smell coming off the woman. It smelled like she'd been on quite a bender.

"Mrs. Riley?" Bosco started in a low tone, trying to bring the woman's level of anger down.

"Shelly. Mary Shelly," the woman corrected him, the whole time not able to take her eyes off Bosco. "Riley's the name of Meg's dead husband - the no good son of a.... You look just like him."

"Whoa! Let's try to calm down," Bosco said. "Let's go sit down and I'll see if I can answer some questions for you."

"You're not gettin' involved with her, are you?" the woman said with a sneer. "You'll wind up dead - just like her Daddy and her husband. She killed them, you know! Both of them!" the woman continued.

"Mrs. Shelly. If you don't quiet down, you're going to be taken out of here," Bosco said, starting to lose patience with this woman. He looked at Faith who hadn't missed what this woman had said either.

"Alright, alright!" the woman finally agreed. Bosco and Faith were able to get her seated in the waiting area and Bosco explained about what had happened, how Meg was injured and what the surgery consisted of.

"Well, it serves her right. She deserves everything she gets. That girl's been nothin' but trouble to me. Nothin' but trouble," the woman repeated with regret in her voice.

"Look, Mrs. Shelly. I don't know what the problem is between you and Ril..., I mean Meg, but she's going to be out of it for awhile after her surgery. Maybe I could have her call you when she's feeling up to visitors," Bosco suggested, trying to get this woman out of the hospital before she could get to Riley. "I can have someone take you home so you don't have to wait for a cab or anything," he added, hoping the woman hadn't driven over here in her condition.

"You just tell her that I was here and that I'm comin' back," the woman sneered, getting up unsteadily off the chair. Bosco motioned to one of the officers hanging around and he helped the woman out to take her home.

Bosco turned to Faith and they both let out a sigh of relief. "What the hell was that?" Faith said.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Bosco said, even though his curiosity was now beyond peeked!

The door from the operating suites opened and a doctor came through and walked toward the waiting room. He walked over to the most senior looking officer to give him a report on Meg Riley's condition. The Captain stopped the doctor and called Bosco over to join them.

"This is Officer Riley's partner, Officer Boscorelli," the Captain told the doctor.

"Okay. Surgery went well. We've repaired the ribs so that there should be no further injury to her lung. The lung appears that it will heal on its own, but we'll keep the chest tube in for a day or so to be sure of no more complications. She has some significant bruising - both inside and outside - but we don't anticipate any complications from that. Again, we'll watch her closely and keep her in ICU for a day or so," the doctor reported.

"So, she's going to be okay, right?" Bosco asked.

The doctor nodded. "I don't foresee any long-lasting complications. She should be able to go home within the week," he answered.

"Thanks, Doc," Bosco said, shaking the man's hand. "Can I go in and see her?"

"Give them about a half hour to get her into the recovery room. And, then only for a few minutes, Officer," he answered.

"Thanks again," Bosco said, acknowledging the doctor's orders.

After the doctor had left, Bosco turned back to Faith. "Can you give Swersky a call and let him know what's going on? I'm gonna go in and see her," Bosco told Faith.

"Sure, but I hope she's not going to have to go home to her mother," Faith said, voicing what Bosco was thinking.

"I'll make sure of that," he said and walked off toward the Recovery Room.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Distraction

Chapter 5

"You can come in now, Officer," the nurse told him as she came out of the Recovery Room to where Bosco waited.

Bosco stood. "Is she awake?" he asked.

"Mmm, a little. She'll hear you though," the nurse told him with a smile. "Not too long, though, okay?" she added as she walked away.

"Okay, thanks," Bosco told her as he tentatively walked up to the door. He looked through the window of the door and saw her lying still, covered in a blanket, with the IVs and monitors still hooked up. It reminded him of when Faith had been shot and he shivered slightly as he pushed the door open and quietly walked in.

* * *

He walked carefully up to the bedside, trying hard not to make too much noise with his shoes. He looked at the monitors and equipment surrounding her and then looked back at her face. He just looked at her for a while. He hadn't really taken the time to notice her at the start of the shift - he'd been too pissed off at having been partnered up with someone new instead of riding out the shift alone while Faith was off. He noticed that she was pretty good looking and that her face took on a softer look when she wasn't working. He listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing and didn't realize for a moment that she was looking back at him through half-opened eyes.

"Tommy?" he heard her say in almost a whisper.

Before he could answer, she seemed to be asleep again. He wondered who Tommy was.

"Riley, it's Bosco," he said, waiting to see if she'd wake up again. Slowly her eyes opened and she again tried to focus on him.

"Meg?" he said to her again. He saw a slight smile come to her face and she reached out with her hand.

"I missed you, Tommy," she said, finding Bosco's hand firmly and she faded off to sleep again.

Bosco gently removed his hand from hers and quietly left the room so as not to wake her again.

* * *

"She okay?" Faith asked, seeing the concerned look on his face as she walked down the hallway toward him.

"Huh? Yeah, she's sleepin' again," he said, and Faith sensed that he wanted to say something else.

"What?" she asked.

He looked back at the doorway and then shrugged. "Nothin'. She thinks I'm somebody named Tommy," he told her.

"Huh, it's probably the meds," Faith told him.

"Yeah. Doc says she's gonna be okay though," he told her, shrugging off Riley's confusion.

"Good. I talked to Lieu and filled him in. If you don't need anything, I'm gonna take off," she told him.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for coming over, Faith," he said.

Bosco watched Faith walk down the hallway and around the corner, then sat down in the chairs in the waiting room. She didn't have any family here and he didn't want her to wake up from the surgery without anyone there. He knew what it was like not to be able to count on your family.

Ty and Sully showed up a little later, having come into the ER with someone from a traffic accident.

Bosco told them what happened and they were still there with him when, a few moments later, a couple of detectives came around the corner wanting to ask him some questions. All three officers recognized them as Internal Affairs and tensed when they started asking him about the events that led up to Riley being injured and the perpetrator being shot by Bosco.

"Wait for your Union Rep," Sully advised him. Ty agreed.

Bosco decided he didn't have anything to hide, so he thanked his friends for their advice, but told IAB the whole story, leading up to right now. Sully insisted on hanging around to serve as a witness – he never did trust IAB.

"Alright," commented one of the Detectives. "Sounds like a righteous shoot to me. We'll just tie up some loose ends and made our give our reports to the Brass. But, you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," Bosco simply stated. "I'm gonna go check on my partner now," he told them, standing up and indicating that the conversation was over. The Detectives shook hands with Bosco and turned to leave.

One of the Detectives turned back toward Bosco. "Hey, Boscorelli. You any relation to Tommy?"

"Tommy?" Bosco asked with a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah. Tommy Riley. Your partner's late husband. You look just like him," the Detective said.

Bosco hid the shock on his face at another person making the comment to him and simply said, "Boscorelli and Riley. Those two names sound like they go together to you?"

"Yeah. Right. Pretty weird though," the Detective said with a chuckle and then left.

Bosco looked back over to Sully. "You know who this Tommy Riley is?"

"I remember something about the name and him being killed in the line of duty, but I think he was from a different Precinct," Sully told him. Ty's portable radio crackled to life, seeking their status.

"Our public awaits," Sully chimed as Ty acknowledged the dispatcher.

"Thanks, guys," Bosco said as they headed down the hallway to go back to work.

Bosco sat back down on the bench, making the decision to research Tommy Riley and the circumstances surrounding his death. Sully said he was killed in the line, but Riley's mother said that Riley had killed him AND her father.

* * *

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Distraction

Chapter 6

"Officer," Bosco heard as he felt someone touching his arm. He woke and started to sit up, immediately feeling the stiffness in his neck and back.

"Ow," he groaned as he looked around to see what was happening. He finally remembered he was sitting in a chair alongside Meg Riley's hospital bed. He looked up at the person next to him and saw a nurse standing by him.

"Your partner's awake again. She's calling for someone named Tommy? Is that you?" she asked him.

"Um, no. But, thanks," he said, looking over at Meg who appeared to be sleeping again.

Sitting forward in the chair as the nurse walked out, Bosco looked closely at her face again. He had to admit that she was very pretty. And tough. Two of the qualities that Bosco seemed to like in women.

He cleared his throat and said, "Meg? It's Bosco. Are you awake?"

Meg stirred slightly and then slowly opened her eyes, looking in Bosco's direction. Bosco noticed she appeared to be more focused when she looked at him this time. She gave a half-smile at him.

"Hey," she said in a whisper, her throat dry from the tube that had been in her throat and from the oxygen being administered through a face mask. She tried to swallow, but it hurt.

"Hey, yourself," Bosco answered. "How are you feeling?"

Taking a moment to survey her feelings, she said finally, "Like I got hit by a truck."

Bosco grinned and said, "You really know what that feels like?"

Meg started to laugh and then drew in a sharp breath. "Ow! Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry," Bosco said with a frown. "You want me to get the doctor?"

She looked around at her surroundings, "Yeah. I want to know when I can get out of here."

"Whoa. You just got done with surgery. I think you'll have to at least wait until the morning," Bosco said, standing up in preparation to go find a doctor.

"Surgery? Well, that would explain the feeling like I got hit by a truck, I guess," Meg said. "What time is it?"

"Um," Bosco looked at his watch, "it's like 4:00. I'm gonna get the doctor." He walked out into the hallway and found the nurse that had woken him up a few minutes ago.

"Can you tell the Doc that my partner's awake?" he asked her.

"I've already paged him. He should be here shortly. I'm on my way back in anyway," the nurse told him and she preceded him through the door. She had some medications in her hand, apparently for Meg.

"Officer. How're you feeling?" the nurse asked, setting down the supplies she'd brought in with her and immediately going about the task of checking on Meg's vital signs.

"She said she feels like she got hit by a truck," Bosco told her. "Actually, it was a metal pipe," Bosco directed to Meg.

"Oh yeah. It's all coming back to me now," Meg moaned at the memory. "He said something about surgery," Meg questioned, referring to the information she'd gotten from Bosco.

"Yes. The doctor will be here any minute to check you over and let you know exactly what's going on," the nurse assured her.

As if on cue, the doctor breezed into the room as if it were bright and early in the morning, rather than 4:00 a.m.

"Well, hello," he said cheerfully. "Let's have a look and see how you're doing, shall we?" he asked. "Officer, would you mind stepping outside in to the hallway for a moment?"

"Oh! Sure. I'll be right outside," he said to Meg and she nodded.

After Bosco had stepped outside, the doctor and nurse went about the task of assessing her vitals and condition. The doctor checked her incision to assure that there were no signs of problems.

"It must've been a quick surgery if its only 4:00," Meg told the doctor. "My shift only started at 3:00."

"It's 4:00 A.M.," the nurse told her with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm good, but I'm not THAT good," the doctor chimed in. He explained the injuries and procedure she'd had done. He explained to her why the chest tube remained in place and that it would probably be removed later on today barring complications. Meg was not happy about the information that she'd probably be in the hospital for at least two or three days, but she didn't really have a choice right now.

Not able to think of any questions about her condition right now, the doctor finished up and left. The nurse put some medication into her IV and then left, telling Bosco he could come back in as she passed him in the hallway. "She's had some pain medication, so she'll probably fall asleep pretty soon."

"Thanks," Bosco said as he headed back into Meg's room.

"Are you still here?" Meg asked him drowsily.

"You're my partner. Of course I'm still here. Is there anyone you want me to call?" Bosco asked her.

"No," she answered quickly, alarm in her voice. "No one notified my Mom, did they?"

"Relax. No. She showed up - I don't know how she found out - but I had Donnelly drive her home," Bosco told her. "She was..., well, she wasn't in very good shape," he said, not coming right out and saying that she was drunk.

"Yeah, she never is," Meg answered sadly, slight embarrassment evident in the blush of her cheeks.

"Anyway - she's not here and I told the nurses that she's not to come in unless you tell them that you want to see her," Bosco told her, noticing that she was fighting to keep her eyes open. "Just relax and let the drugs work," he told her.

"Thanks," she said. "Take off and get some rest. Thanks for hanging around," she said, finally drifting off.

Bosco just looked at her for a few minutes, watching her sleep peacefully. There was something about her that drew him to her, but he didn't know what it was. It was more than just her looks. He saw something in her eyes when she looked at him. Something. After a moment, he turned and walked out of her room to head home and get some rest. He'd check in on her in the morning - or later in the morning actually.

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Distraction

Chapter 7

He woke suddenly, the echoes still floating in his ears.

"You look just like him."

"Don't get involved with her. She'll kill you just like she killed Tommy."

"She killed her father too!"

"Are you any relation to Tommy Riley?"

The words of Meg Riley's mother and the IAB detective haunted him throughout the time he slept - if you could call it sleeping.

He sat up and slid to the edge of the bed, letting his feet touch the cool floor that sent a chill through his body. He looked around and caught sight of the clock - it was 10:00 a.m. Four and a half hours of sleep - he'd done that before. But, this time it hadn't been enough. He was still wiped out from yesterday's events.

He rubbed his eyes and ran the palm of his hand across the beard that had grown since he'd shaved yesterday afternoon before going to work. He reached over and grabbed his jeans off the chair and pulled them on, slowly standing up, leaving them unfastened. He grabbed his t-shirt next and threw that over his head. He headed up the hallway toward the kitchen to start the coffee, flipping on the television for background noise on his way through the living room to the kitchen.

He flipped the switch on the coffeemaker, having set it up before turning in last night - this morning rather. As the smell of fresh-brewed coffee filled the air, he opened the refrigerator door and took a big gulp of orange juice out of the carton and returned it to the shelf, listening to the top news stories being repeated at the top of the hour.

The voice of the news anchor caught his attention when she mentioned yesterday's attack on a police officer and the subsequent death of the perpetrator.

"...Detective Murphy of the NYPD's Internal Affairs Division told us this morning that after careful investigation of the incident, including statements from several witnesses on the scene, the shooting death of Donald Evans at the hands of the police was ruled justifiable. Witnesses stated that the attack on Officer Meghan Riley came out of the blue as she was assisting her partner, Officer Maurice Boscorelli, concerning another complaint. Officer Riley was struck from behind by Donald Evans with a metal pipe. Evans was about to strike another blow when the shot from Officer Boscorelli stopped him, after he ignored the Officer's order to stop. Officer Riley remains hospitalized this morning following emergency surgery for unspecified injuries.

"In a side note, Officer Meghan Riley, formerly of the 50th Precinct, was involved in a case in which her husband, Officer Thomas Riley, and father were killed. Sources, however, are tightlipped about that incident."

Bosco turned off the television and returned to get himself a cup of coffee. And took it into the bathroom with him to catch a shower before heading over the House to fill out yet more paperwork on yesterday's events and check in on Meg at Mercy.

* * *

"Hey, Boscorelli. How're you doing?" asked one of the officers from the 2nd watch.

"How's it goin', Smitty," he returned, nodding in the direction of the greeting as he approached the front desk.

"Hey, Sarge. Is the Lieutenant in?" Bosco asked.

"Yeah, he's waiting for you. He's got all the paperwork in his office," answered the Sergeant, indicating the direction of the Lieutenant's office.

"Thanks," Bosco said, lightly tapping his hand on the desk before heading up the stairs.

"How's Riley?" the Sergeant called to him as he rounded the desk.

"Doc says she's gonna be okay," Bosco answered.

"Nice shoot," offered the Sergeant.

Bosco nodded, "Thanks."

Bosco knocked on the doorframe and noticed that the Lieutenant was on the phone. He waved Bosco in and while he was ending the conversation, he rummaged through some paper piles on his desk, finally finding what he needed and offering them in Bosco's direction.

"Right, Frank. I'll get back to you on that as soon as I know something," the Lieutenant finished, hanging up the phone.

"You look like hell, Boscorelli. You get any sleep last night?" the Lieutenant observed.

"Thanks, Lieu. I thought I looked pretty good this morning," Bosco joked. "Some," he answered in response to the question about whether he'd gotten any sleep.

"Uh huh," the Lieutenant nodded. "Swersky said that you gave a statement to IAB last night at the hospital. That's the write-up from them on the shoot," he indicated the papers in Bosco's hand. "The shoot looks good. Read it over, make sure its right and then sign it."

"Yes, Sir," Bosco said, turning to take the papers to one of the desks outside the Lieutenant's office.

"Lieu?" he said, almost as an afterthought.

"Yeah?" the Lieutenant answered, looking up at Bosco over his glasses.

"You know anything about a Tommy Riley from the 50th?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it. Has nothing to do with what happened yesterday," the Lieutenant said, dismissing Bosco by turning back to his work.

"Right," Bosco acknowledged, knowing better than to challenge the Lieutenant. "Thanks, Lieu."

Bosco walked out of the office and sat at one of the empty desks and started reading over the report from IAB.

"Hey, Bosco," came the voice of Sully around the corner. "How's Riley?"

"Hey, Sully," Bosco greeted him. "Okay as of last night. I'm just finishing up paperwork and then I'm gonna head over to the hospital to check on her."

"Ah, the paperwork. Gotta love it. You see the shrink yet?" Sully asked, referring to the policy that anyone involved in shooting or killing a suspect get a mandatory three days off work and be evaluated by a psychiatrist before returning to work.

"Not yet. Tomorrow, I think," Bosco told him.

Sully nodded. "Send Riley our best," Sully called to him as he headed off to the locker room to get ready for this upcoming shift.

"Hey, Sully!" Bosco called, stopping his fellow officer. Sully turned back to Bosco.

"You know anything about Tommy Riley of the 50th?" Bosco asked him.

"Not really," Sully replied, thinking for a moment. "I heard it had something to do with some kind of domestic thing, but I don't know the details. Sorry," he said, before turning to leave.

"Yeah, thanks," Bosco replied, more intrigued now.

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

Distraction

Chapter 8

Before he realized it, he'd found himself up in Anti-Crime using the computer.

"Hey, Boscorelli! Don't you have computers downstairs?" asked one of the members of Anti-Crime.

"Yeah, Dave. But, Anti-Crime's got all the best gadgets," Bosco joked back to him as he combed through past news items on the internet.

"Well, that's 'cause...," Dave started before being interrupted by Bosco.

"Yeah, yeah. You keep thinkin' that," Bosco shot back before Dave could finish the sentence.

Laughing, Dave continued on his way. "Later!"

"See ya'," Bosco called after him as his eyes caught an article of interest:

"Officer Investigated After Death of Father and Fellow Cop/Husband."

He read it over briefly and then hit the print button so he could read it more thoroughly later.

Following the same search path, he found a couple more articles and printed them as well. He glanced at the clock as he retrieved his papers from the printer, folded them and put them in his pocket. "Better head over to the hospital and check on Meg," he thought to himself.

Descending the stairs two at a time, he just about ran into Faith who was coming in for her shift.

"Hey, Bos. How are you? I tried calling you at home today. I figured you were at the hospital so I didn't bother trying your cell. Everything okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Just doing some paperwork on the shoot and stuff. I'm headin' over to Mercy now," he told her and she nodded.

"So, you getting a partner or what today?" Bosco asked her.

"Um, I think me and Sasha," she answered, taking a few steps toward the locker room.

"All right. Take care," he said. "See you in a couple days."

"Yeah. Give me a call later," she called back to him as she continued on the locker room.

"Will do!"

* * *

Bosco came out of the elevator and headed toward Meg's hospital room. Reaching the doorway, he entered and found the room empty. A panic suddenly hit him. "They'd call me if something had happened," he told himself. He turned back toward the desk after checking the room number again to make sure he'd had the right room.

He waited for the nurse to get off the phone with the lab and asked where Meg had gone.

"Oh, she's fine. She got moved to a regular room is all. Um..," she paused while looking at her discharge sheets. "She's in 411 now," she told him.

Bosco sighed in relief. "Thanks," he said, heading back toward the elevator.

"Her Mom was just here too. I sent her down there too," the nurse offered, and Bosco noticed the funny look on the nurse's face telling him that Meg's mother probably wasn't in much better shape than she was yesterday.

The elevator opened and Bosco got on and pushed the button. As the elevator door opened onto the 4th floor, Bosco stepped out and almost got run down by some security guards rushing past. He followed in the direction of their travel, a bad feeling forming as he got closer to the sounds of the shouting.

"You deserve everything you get! Did you think you were dying? Huh?! Did you feel what it felt like for your Daddy when you killed him!?!?!" Bosco heard as he followed the guards into the room and saw Meg sitting on the edge of bed in obvious pain and the guards immediately starting to pull Meg's mother off of her.

Just before the guards got control of the irate woman, she let her arm fly and caught Meg right on the side of the face with her open hand. The sound of the slap seemed to reverberate off the walls of the room.

"Hey!" Bosco called as he moved in one swift motion and pulled the woman off of Meg and dragged her out into the hallway. One of the guards produced a pair of handcuffs and Bosco quickly put them on so that her hands were firmly held behind her back. The whole time she continued wailing and screaming out insults to Meg.

"That's enough!" Bosco yelled, just about in the woman's face. The smell of alcohol made Bosco nauseous and he could tell by the look of her eyes that she was worse off than she was last night.

"How the hell did she get up here?!" Bosco asked the guards, and looked at the nurses standing by watching. No one had an answer.

"Can someone please get in there and check on my partner?" he said, snapping the staff back to reality. "And, get her downstairs and call for an RMP to come pick her up for assault and public intoxication."

"NO!" Meg shouted from inside her room. "Bosco, no!"

Making sure that the guards had a hold of the woman, Bosco let go and went into the room. "Meg? Are you kiddin' me?"

"Bosco, please. Just make sure someone gets her home. Please?" she pleaded. Bosco just looked at Meg and saw the pleading in her eyes. He didn't understand, but she'd been through enough right now. He saw some blood on the side of her hospital gown and the nurse was attending to her. "She must've pulled some stitches loose or something," Bosco thought.

"She okay?" he asked the nurse.

"I think so, but I'm checking her out right now and I've paged the doctor to come take a look," the nurse answered.

Bosco looked again into Meg's eyes and saw the pain and hurt there. "Meg?"

"Please, Bosco. Just make sure she gets home," Meg pleaded again as the nurse helped her to lie down and began pulling the curtain. "Bosco?"

"Okay, okay. Relax. I'll put her in a cab. I'll be right back," he assured her and saw her relax somewhat, although he could see she was still trembling.

"Thanks," she said quietly to him and then the curtain was closed.

* * *

Giving the woman a nasty look, he saw that she was now crying. "Bring her downstairs," he said, trying to hide the disgust that he felt. The guards followed along, practically dragging the woman with them, her incoherent mumbling continuing all the way.

As they were going down in the elevator, he happened to catch the woman staring at him.

"Tommy?" she said to him. Bosco just looked at her.

"Tommy? That you?" she said again.

Bosco just shook his head. "No."

"Tommy, you're such a good man," she said and started crying again. They reached the first floor and the elevator opened – none to soon for Bosco. Obviously, the woman was delirious and Bosco wondered whether she was okay to be sent home.

"Ma'am, do you have anyone at home that can take care of you?" Bosco asked as they reached the doors and headed outside so that Bosco could hail a cab.

"I don't need no one to take care of me. Who do you think you are?!" she yelled at Bosco, taking offense.

"Maybe we should have one of the docs take a look at you while you're here," he offered, trying to ignore her comment.

"I don't need no doctors and you can't make me," she spat at him.

Just as a cab pulled up, the guards took the cuffs off her and they both helped her into the cab. She called her address out to the driver and threw another mean look Bosco's way.

"Don't you get involved with her. She's bad news," the woman called out to him just as he was about to close the door.

Bosco leaned in close to the woman. "Don't come back here unless Meg calls for you. If you do, I'll have you arrested. I don't care what Meg wants done. Do you understand?" he said and by the look on his face, the woman knew he meant it.

She shouted an obsenity as Bosco slammed the cab door. Opening the front door of the cab, he gave the driver some money and told him to take her home and nowhere else – fearing that the woman would decide to get out and go to another bar, or, worse, come back to the hospital.

After making sure that the cab left the hospital with Meg's mother safely inside, he left instructions with the security staff, and would mention it to the nursing staff on the 4th floor, not to let that woman back in to see Meg.

* * *

Bosco returned back to Meg's room. He walked over to the doorway and saw that the curtain was still pulled. He heard the doctor's voice inside and waited just outside. After a moment, the doctor and nurse came out.

"Doc? She okay?" Bosco asked.

"Luckily, yes. She pulled a couple of stitches loose, but I fixed them with a local anesthetic. She's pretty upset still. We gave her something to calm her down. But, I don't think she's any the worse for wear.

"Thanks, Doc. Can I go in and see her?"

"Sure. But, she needs to get some rest," the doctor answered.

"Yes, sir," Bosco said. The doctor and nurse walked away and Bosco took a couple of steps into the room.

"Meg?" he called quietly as he looked at her lying there with her eyes closed. He thought he saw some tears in her eyes when she opened them, but she blinked them away before he got close enough to take a look.

"You okay?" he asked her as he approached.

She shrugged him off and said, "Me? Yeah, I'm fine. She's not so tough," she said, trying to shrug off what had just happened.

"Anything I can do?" he offered.

"You already did it. Thanks," she told him, blushing slightly. "She's not so bad really. She's just lonely and sad."

"She's more than that, Meg. She needs help," Bosco told her and saw her tense. He backed off and changed the subject.

"So, the doctor says you're doing great. Did they say when you'd be going home?" he said.

"Maybe tomorrow, or the next day. Depends on how I'm getting up and around," she told him.

"You got anyone to stay with you?" Bosco asked. "'Cause, speaking from experience, they ain't gonna let you go unless you do," he joked.

"My neighbor is good. She'll check on me, I'm sure," Meg said, making something up. Truth was that she had no one. She lived in a small, sparcely-furnished apartment. She'd sold the house that she and Tommy had lived in while they were married. Too many bad memories there. But, then again, the memories followed her, so it hadn't done much good to sell the house anyway. But, with working so much, she didn't have time to keep a house up anyway.

"Uh huh. Well, I'm off for a few days, so let me know and I'll drive you home," he offered.

"You don't have to do that," she said, and Bosco noticed her nervously playing with the corner of the blanket.

"Well, I want to. So, call me. Okay?" he urged her.

She hesitated and then agreed.

"So, I heard on the news that the Department cleared you on the shoot," she said, filling the awkward silence that followed after their last conversation.

"Yeah. I just finished up the paperwork before I came over. I see the Department shrink tomorrow," he told her.

She looked over at him, concern on her face. "Good. So, you're okay?" she asked.

"Me? Yeah, no sweat. I didn't have a choice. That guy was gonna hit you again. Witnesses backed that up," he told her, but she sensed he wanted to ask her something.

"What?" she asked him.

"Nothin'. Just..., how'd that guy sneak up on you?" he finally asked her.

"I don't know. I guess I kind of got distracted," she said, ashamed.

"By what?" he continued to question.

"Um...," she said, flustered. "I'm not sure..., I don't remember. Something caught my eye," she said finally, not wanting to admit that she was staring at him.

Bosco nodded and there was more silence between them. She had turned on the television in the room at some point, but the sound was off. The weather was on and calling for rain tomorrow. Bosco noticed Meg was trying to stay awake.

"Well, the Doc said they gave you something to help you get some rest, so I guess I'll let that happen," he told her, standing up.

"It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow," he said, indicating the graphics on the TV. "So, I mean it. Call me tomorrow or the next day. Any time. I'll be waiting to take you home."

"You don't have...," she said, and he interrupted.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. You're my partner. I'm responsible," he said.

"You saved my life," she said finally.

"You'd have done the same for me," he stated.

"I would have," she agreed. "If I'd been looking at anything other than you," she thought to herself, again not able to take her eyes off of him.

"What?" he asked her, noticing the lingering stare.

"Nothing. I'm just tired, I guess," she said.

"Well, I'm going, so you can get some sleep," he said. He started to walk toward the door and then paused. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Grabbing one of his business cards from the wallet, he grabbed the pen out of his inside jacket pocket and wrote on the back of it.

"This is my cell phone. Call me when you're ready to go home. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume they're keeping you another day or so and I'll come back in tomorrow. You need anything?" he offered.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks. I will..., call you I mean. Thanks," she said, reaching over to take the card from him.

Their fingers touched and each felt a jolt, but their touch lingered for a moment.

Bosco cleared his throat. "Okay," Bosco said, a shy grin on his face. "I'll see you tomorrow then, one way or another."

"Right. Thanks, Bosco," she said and he turned and left, but not before glancing back at her. He looked at her for a moment, lying back on the bed, her eyes closed, her profile silhouetted in the light from the window.

Sensing she was already asleep, he continued on toward the elevator and then home, feeling pretty tired himself, the last two days catching up with him.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

Distraction

Chapter 9

"_Officer Investigated In Shooting Death of Father and Fellow Cop/Husband_

_Sherry Smith, NY Post_

_November 7, 2000_

_New York City Police Officer Meghan Riley has been placed on Administrative Leave with pay from the Department pending investigation of a shooting which left both her father, Edward Shelly, and husband, Police Officer Thomas Riley, dead. _

_Officer Riley has been with the 50th Precinct since graduating from the Academy in June of 1998. Her husband, Officer Thomas Riley, also served with the 50th Precinct, dating back to 1996._

_It is believed that there was some sort of domestic disturbance at the home of Edward Shelly, which resulted in the deaths of the two men. There were shots fired, according to neighbors and New York City Police officials, but details remain sketchy at this time. Conflicting reports dispute whether Officer Thomas Riley was working or not at the time of his death. The Department confirms that Officer Meghan Riley was on duty at the time, but will not confirm or deny rumors that she fired her weapon._

_A press conference will be held, but no time has yet been set, pending the investigation."_

Bosco put down the first article and let out a sigh. Turning his attention to the next article, he continued to read:

"_Two Dead Following Late Night Shooting_

_Sherry Smith, NY Post_

_November 8, 2000_

_A press conference will be held this morning regarding a story first reported in our late edition yesterday. The NYPD confirmed today that two of their officers were involved in a domestic dispute that left the father and husband of one of the involved officers dead._

_Officer Meghan Riley remains on administrative leave with pay, and efforts to contact her went unanswered."_

The next article came from the _NY Post's_ late edition:

"_New York City Policy Department held a news conference today to give information and answer questions regarding Officer Meghan Riley's involvement in the shooting deaths of her father, Edward Shelly, and husband, Officer Thomas Riley._

_Officials confirmed that a call for a domestic disturbance was received by 9-1-1 dispatchers at approximately 11:00 p.m. the evening of November 6, 2000. The caller identified himself as Thomas Riley, an off-duty officer of the New York City Police Department. The caller stated that he was on the scene of a domestic disturbance that continued to escalate and that weapons were believed to be involved. _

_Units were dispatched to the home of Edward Shelly, in the 200 block of East 98th Street, where they came upon a hostage situation involving Mr. Shelly, who was holding both his wife, Mary , and son-in-law, Officer Thomas Riley, at gunpoint._

_Officer Meghan Riley responded after being called to the house from another call. Upon her arrival, she attempted to make contact with those inside and was granted access to the residence. However, once inside, something went very wrong and gunshots were heard inside the residence. Following a brief silence, Officer Meghan Riley emerged from the residence in obvious distress and she was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be checked out. Neighbors and witnesses stated that she did have blood on her clothes and hands, but it is unknown if or how she was injured. _

_Officers gained entry to the residence and found the two decedents. At this time, it is believed that Officer Thomas Riley was shot and killed by Edward , who was then shot and killed by Officer Meghan Riley while turning the gun on her. Officer Riley's mother, Mary, was unharmed in the incident._

_Crime scene reconstruction ballistic, and autopsy results are forthcoming. Officer Riley remains on administrative leave and is still said to be unavailable for comment."_

Bosco put the last of the articles he'd retrieved down on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch. "Wow," he said out loud.

He was interrupted by a knock on his door. He went to the door and, after looking through the peep hole, opened the door to let Faith and Sasha in.

"Hey, Faith. Hey, Sasha. What's up?" he asked as he stepped aside to let them enter.

"Nothing. We're on a meal break and thought we'd stop by and see if you were home. You know, see how you're doing," Faith said.

"Faith said you like Chinese," Sasha said, holding up a couple of bags of takeout.

Bosco didn't realize how hungry he was until he smelled the food that they'd brought. "You didn't eat yet, did you?" Faith asked, looking toward the kitchen.

"Um, no. I didn't realize it was so late," he said, picking up the articles and putting them on the shelf, out of sight.

"Well, let's eat before we get pulled off of our break," Faith said, starting to open the food on the kitchen table.

Bosco went to the cabinet and got some dishes. He opened the refrigerator and said, "I have water, orange juice, soda and, well, beer."

"Water's fine," Sasha and Faith answered in unison.

"I believe I'll have a beer," Bosco said teasingly as he pulled two bottles of water and a beer out of the fridge.

"So, how's Riley doing?" Sasha asked as they all sat down and started eating.

"She's doing pretty good. Doctor told her she could come home tomorrow or the next day," he said and Faith noticed the frown on his face.

"What? You don't believe she's doing that good?" Faith asked.

"What? No, she just..., her mother was there when I got there. Drunk again. And belligerent. More than last night, if that's possible. She smacked Meg before we could get her out of there and she ripped open some stitches," Bosco told them.

"My God. Did you have her arrested?" Sasha asked.

Bosco shook his head. "If it was up to me, yeah. But, Meg didn't want anything done. Just about begged me to just make sure she got home alright."

"Wow. That's some messed up woman," Faith said.

"Yeah. I told Meg to call me when they discharged her and I'd give her a ride home. I don't think she's got anyone else to bring her home," Bosco said.

"Well, they're not gonna let her go home by herself," Monroe commented.

"Yeah, that's what I said. She said she's got a neighbor who can help her out though," he relayed.

"Well, that's good," Faith said, just as her portable radio crackled to life.

"55-David, can you take a call?" the dispatcher said.

It definitely sounded more like an order than a request. "Things must be hoppin'," Faith commented before answering.

"55-David. Go head, Central," Faith spoke into the microphone as Sasha gathered up her stuff and headed toward the door.

"Thanks for dinner," Bosco called to them as they headed out the door. "Hey!" he called and tossed two fortune cookies to them as the turned back to see what he wanted.

As they pulled the door shut behind them, he broke open the remaining fortune cookie and read it: _"Man who helps others, will prosper from it."_

He chuckled and threw the paper away with the rest of the trash. After cleaning up, he decided that he'd try to catch up on his sleep from the last two nights and headed to bed.

Within minutes of his head hitting the pillow, he was out like a light.

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Bosco woke to the sound of a phone ringing. He glanced at the clock to see that it was 9:20, but he noticed the sunlight coming in through the bedroom curtains. He couldn't believe that he'd slept straight through to the next morning after Faith and Sasha had left. He noticed that since the sun was shining, the weatherman had been wrong again when he'd forecasted rain for the day.

Realizing that his answering machine didn't pick up, he jumped up to grab his cell phone off the nightstand, thinking that it might be his partner calling him. He missed the call and dialed his voice mail to listen to his message.

"_Hello? Bosco? Are you there? This is Meg..., um, Meg Riley. I just wanted to let you know that I was getting out of here today so you don't have to waste a trip down here. Bye."_

Holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder, he pulled some clean clothes from his drawers and called the hospital, asking for Meg's room. He was just about to hang up after the fifth ring, when there was a barely audible "_Hello_" on the other end.

"Meg?" he asked, not sure if it was her or not. The voice sounded pretty weak and out of breath.

"Bosco? I just left you a message," she answered, sounding a little better, but not much.

"Yeah, I just missed your call. Are you okay? Sure you should be going home today?" he asked her.

"Never better," she said sarcastically.

"Well, I'll come over and pick you up," he offered as he walked toward the front door, grabbing his keys off the table.

"I can take a cab," Meg answered, not wanting to take up any more of his time than he'd already been kind enough to offer.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes," Bosco replied, hanging up. He didn't want to give her an opportunity to refuse him again. For some reason, he was drawn to this woman. "What are you getting yourself into. Boscorelli?" he asked himself as he left his apartment and pulled the door shut behind him.

Meg hung up the phone, letting her hand linger on the receiver as she felt a twinge shoot through her stomach. Was it because she was afraid to let anyone get too close, or was it because she wanted to get closer to Maurice Boscorelli? He looked so much like Tommy - her mother saw it right away. She knew he must be wondering what the hell her family was all about - she wondered about that herself.

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Meg was sitting in a chair by the window when Bosco walked into the room. He was quiet when he'd come in, just in case she was asleep. He stood at the doorway and watched her for a moment as she casually flipped through a magazine. She must've sensed someone was watching her because she suddenly looked toward the door and saw him standing there.

"Hey," he said, quickly stepping into the room. He hoped she didn't notice that he was watching her.

She stood up slowly, holding her arm close to her side, obviously still tender where she was hit with the pipe and from her surgery. "Bosco," she said nervously, "thanks for carting me home."

"Not a problem," he answered quickly. He glanced to the hospital bag that contained her belongings from her admission and noticed, sadly, that the only arrangement of flowers alongside the bag were those that the Department had sent over; nothing visible from any family or friends. "Is this everything?" he asked, picking up the flowers and bag as the orderly came in with a wheelchair.

"That's it - I travel light, I guess," she joked, grimacing as she accidentally allowed a chuckle to escape.

"Still pretty sore, I guess," Bosco said as he put a hand on her elbow and helped her lower herself into the wheelchair. Meg hoped he didn't notice her tense up and blush at his touch.

"I've felt worse," she said nonchalantly. And, her eyes told him she wasn't lying. His interest in her was piqued again.

"Where to?" Bosco asked, starting the car after he'd gotten Meg settled and put her things into the back seat.

"Oh, right," she said, forgetting that he had no idea where she lived. "437 East 87th Street," she answered and Bosco put the car into drive and started out of the parking lot.

They drove in an awkward silence for a few minutes, Bosco playing the news articles over in his head and remembering her calling him Tommy in the recovery room after surgery. Then, there was her mother - what a whack job there! He reminded himself to follow-up on the story there.

Suddenly, he realized that she had been talking to him. He looked over and said, "Sorry, what?"

"I said, 'did IAB clear you for the shoot'?" she repeated, noticing the frown that wrinkled his forehead as he seemed lost in thought.

"Oh, yeah. No problem. That group of kids witnessed the whole thing and backed up the story," he answered her, looking quickly over at her to catch a glimpse.

"Wow, you mean you have gangbangers as friends that will actually back you up?" she asked jokingly.

"Gangbangers?" he said, smiling. "Those are wannabe gangbangers. They talk a good game, but not one of them has done anything really serious - at least not yet," he laughed.

Meg smiled at the sight of his smile and, noticing that they had held each others glance, she quickly looked away.

"Look, Bosco. I never did get a chance to thank you. - - you know, for saving my life," she said uneasily.

"Like I said that day, you watch my back and I'll watch yours," Bosco replied simply. He looked over at her while she stared out the side window and noticed how sad she looked. "You okay? I mean you look, I don't know. Do you feel okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just tired I guess," she said as they pulled up to her apartment building. She started to open her door to get out and Bosco quickly exited the driver side and went around to help her out.

"Let me grab your stuff and I'll help you up the stairs - what floor do you live on?" he asked, opening the back door to retrieve her bag and flowers.

"I'm just on the first floor. You don't have to help me up - you've done enough," she answered taking a few slow steps toward her building.

"Yeah, you're just blazing right along. I can hardly keep up," he said, closing the car door and joining her.

"Don't make me laugh, it hurts," she said, holding onto her side again.

"Sorry," he answered as they reached the top of the stairs and he saw the look of pain on her face. "Need to stop here for a minute?"

"No, if I stop I might not get started again," she said, taking the key out of her bag.

Bosco took the key from her and their fingers touched briefly, a charge going through him at the touch.

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They got in the front of the building and made it three doors down to her apartment where Bosco again used her key to open the door. She went in with Bosco behind her and sat on the couch in the living room to catch her breath. She noticed Bosco looking around the sparsely furnished apartment.

"I just moved in, not much furniture yet," she said as a way of explanation. Bosco put the flowers on the coffee table and her bag of clothes on the floor next to the door.

After an awkward moment, he said, "So, do you need anything? Want me to tell your neighbor that your home?" he asked, remembering that she'd said her neighbor would be able to look after her until she was feeling better.

"What? Oh no, I'll give her a ring when I catch my breath," she lied, knowing that the neighboring apartment had been vacant for some time. She started to stand up to go into the kitchen to get some water to take one of her pain pills, felt the room start to spin and broke out in a cold sweat. As she sank down to the couch again, she felt Bosco's grip of her arm as he helped her back down just before everything went black.

Bosco covered Meg with a blanket after laying her on the couch. He checked for a pulse, relieved that he felt one. He opened the door to the apartment and went next door to the neighbor for help - he had no idea what to do. As he knocked on the neighbor's door, it pushed open.

"Hello," he called as he peeked into the empty apartment. "What the...," he said, not finishing the sentence as he hurried back in to Meg to make sure she was alright. She was still unconscious and he dialed his cell phone to call for an ambulance as she started to come to.

He hung up the phone and went to her side as she opened her eyes. "Meg?" he called to her quietly.

"What happened?" she inquired as she tried to sit up. He put his hand on her shoulder to ease her back down.

"Whoa, just stay there for a little bit. I think you passed out," he said as she focused on his face and the worry she saw there.

"I think I just stood up too fast," she said, blushing. "I'm okay. Let me try to sit up," she said, starting to sit up again. Bosco squatted down next to the couch so that she didn't have to look up at him.

"Sorry about that," she said, clearly embarrassed.

"Yeah, like I've never passed out before," he said, trying to make her feel better. "Ask my Ma how many times she's carried me up to her apartment from the bar she works in," he said.

He noticed the look of pain on her face. "You okay now?"

"I was just trying to get some water to take one of the pain pills they gave me," she explained. "Would you?" she asked, pointing to the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure," he said, quickly getting up and going into the kitchen. "So, the apartment next door is empty," he said. "You don't have anyone to look after you, do you?"

"I'll be fine. I don't need anyone to look after me," she said, taking the water and bottle of pills he'd retrieved from her hospital bag. "I just told the doctor that so he'd let me go home. Can't sleep in those places anyway," she said taking the pill and swallowing some water.

He carried the empty glass back to the kitchen sink and came back into the living room, pausing at the shelves that contained some pictures. He started to say something, but his breath caught as he saw, what looked like, a picture of himself standing next to a younger, happier Meg Ryan.

Meg watched Bosco as he looked at the picture and saw the shock on his face as he saw Tommy's picture. She looked away just as he turned to look at her and Bosco was glad that she didn't see his reaction.

"So, is there anyone I can call for you? Sisters, brothers, boyfriends?" he asked her.

"No. I'm just gonna get changed and turn in I think. Pretty tired," she said quietly. "I'll call my family tomorrow and let them know I'm home," she lied. There was no family - only her mother and she'd lay dying on the floor before she called her. Not that she'd come anyway.

"Alright," Bosco said taking a look around. "If you're sure," said. "I'm gonna take off and let you get some rest."

"Okay. Thanks again, for everything," she told him. He shrugged it off as he walked to the door. Turning back to her before he pulled the door shut behind him, he said, "You have my number. Call me if you need anything. I don't mind."

"I'll be fine," she said, giving him a wave.

"I know, but, you know, just in case," he said, pulling the door shut behind him and trying the knob to make sure that it had locked.

He stood in the hallway for a moment, just looking at the door, and then turned to leave seeing the picture of Meg and her husband in his mind. He couldn't believe the resemblance.

Meg let out a breath of relief as Bosco closed the door. She heard him jiggle the knob to make sure it had locked and after a moment, she heard his footsteps retreating down the hall. After sitting for a moment, she reached over for the remote and clicked on the television so that she'd have some noise as company. She layed back on the couch and it wasn't long before she'd fallen asleep.

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TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

Distraction

Chapter 11

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"Can I help you, Sir?" asked the Desk Sergeant as Bosco walked into the 50th Precinct.

Leaning in closer to the front desk, Bosco showed him his badge and said, "Hi, I'm Boscorelli, from the 5-5. Is Bill Donnelly working today?" Donnelly had been one of Bosco's instructors at the Academy. He was a young instructor and the two had hit it off and often hung out during down time during his training.

Loosening up a little since he now knew he wasn't dealing with a civilian, the Sergeant replied, "Billy? Yeah, I think he's in today doing a swap for someone. Hang on, let me check," he said as his phone rang again. "Yes, Ma'am. Calm down. What's the problem...?" Bosco decided to take a seat across from the desk because it sounded like he'd be on the phone for a few minutes, giving Bosco an apologetic look.

He was looking down the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of Donnelly if he could when he heard the familiar voice from the other direction.

"Well, if it ain't Boscorelli, as I live and breathe! And what brings you to our humble door?" the man said, as Bosco stood to shake his hand, both men with smiles on their faces.

"Billy! Long time no see. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd swing in," he lied. "Got time for some coffee, or lunch?"

"Always for an esteemed colleague," Billy Donnelly said as he led Bosco toward the front door. "Hey, Sarge! I'll be 10-7 for lunch. I got a radio." The Desk Sergeant, who was still on the phone with the panicked caller from earlier, gave them both a wave.  
-----------------------------------

After a few minutes of small talk and catching up, the waitress brought their food and refilled their coffee cups. They each took a bite of the day's special, and Bosco cursed himself for not having his antacids in his pocket as usual, knowing that this special was going to give him indigestion. The fact that he was a little anxious about talking about his new partner behind her back didn't help the feeling.

After a moment, Donnelly broke the silence. "So, what's up?"

"What? I can't swing by and check in on a buddy?" Bosco said in a mocking tone.

"Yeah, right! And Yokas didn't help you out on the tests in the Academy," Donnelly shot back.

"Up yours, Donnelly," Bosco kidded him back.

"Yeah, yeah, whatta you need?" Billy asked him. "Don't tell me you got partner problems," he asked, as if he were reading Bosco's mind.

"What? No, not at all," he said, maybe a little too quickly.

"How's she doin'? I saw it on the news," Billy asked him.

"Good, she's home. She's sore, but she'll be good as new in a bit," Bosco answered him.

After a moment's hesitation, Bosco continued, "You know her at all?"

"Like how? Like, will the Boscorelli charm work on her kind, or something else?" Billy asked.

"Again, up yours Donnelly," Bosco chuckled. "Seriously, what do you know about her? I've heard a few things. I mean, she seems okay. She doesn't talk too much, but I just chalked that up to being new together, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. She's an okay kid. She's had some hard times," Donnelly told him.

"Yeah, I heard something like that. Can you give me any details?" Bosco asked him as he took another bite of his meal.

"About?"

"I think you probably know what about. I met her Ma at the hospital - she's a treasure," he said with distaste.

"Oh, yeah. She's a gem. She probably loved you too," Billy teased. "You probably about sent her over the edge, or wasn't she sober enough to see it?"

"See what?" Bosco said, pretending he didn't know what Billy was talking about.

"That you look just like Riley's dead husband," he said as easily as if he'd said 'have a nice day.'

Bosco just about spit his swig of coffee out of his mouth. "So, it's true," he said after he was able to swallow.

"Yeah, it's true," Donnelly said, finishing the last bite of his lunch. He thought back to the picture in Meg's apartment. After an awkward silence, he continued.

"We went there at least once a week - they were both drunks and knockin' each other around all the time. As long as they quieted down and nobody was hurt too bad, we'd split them up for a little while and Tommy or Meg would always show up and take care of things," he said, pausing as the waitress refilled their cups again. "I guess in hindsight, we shoulda done something more."

"Yeah, well, it's a tough call," Bosco said, having been stuck in the middle of this kind of situation before. "So, what happened that night?" Bosco asked as the waitress hovered near him long enough to give Billy a reason to tease him.

"Geez, would you turn off your radar already!" Donnelly smirked. "I swear, you always could get the babes to fall all over you during the Academy. You still got it, Romeo."

"Bite me, Billy." Bosco joked, putting cream and sugar into the cup and stirring it.

"That night," Bosco said, reminding Billy Donnelly of what they were talking about.

"Well, that night, Riley and her partner are on patrol - Tommy's working too, but on the other side of the precinct - closer to her parent's house. A call comes over the radio for a domestic - - again. As usual, Meg's lard-ass partner was slow gettin' in the car from gettin' his cup of Joe, so Tommy got there first. Anyway, by the time Meg gets there and gets through the front door, Tommy's layin' on the floor, shot, and her Mom is screamin' like a maniac and throwin' things around the apartment. Meg's Dad has Tommy's gun in his hand and she looks back from checkin' on Tommy, and sees him turnin' the gun toward her Mom with a really sick look on his face - like he don't care anymore," he said.

"And?" Bosco prodded, already knowing the answer.

"And, Meg had to shoot the bastard as he shot at her Mom and then turned the gun toward Meg and tried to pull the trigger. He missed the Mom and never got the shot off at Meg. Meg always was a great shot," he finished.

"Shit," Bosco said in barely a whisper.

"I know, right?" was all Billy said, looking at his watch and motioning for the check. "IAB totally cleared her, but I don't think she ever cleared herself, you know?"

"Yeah," he said quietly as he dug in his pocket to pay the bill, grabbing the check before Donnelly could. Donnelly let him as he looked at his friend's expression.

"What's goin' through your mind Bosco?" he asked him.

"Nothing. I mean, I just wanted to know the story and didn't want to upset her by asking her if it was still an issue," Bosco explained.

"How could killin' your old man after he killed your husband NOT be an issue still?" Donnelly asked.

"Well, yeah, there's that angle," Bosco replied, throwing the right change and a decent tip in the table and standing up.

"Boscorelli," Donnelly said standing up next to him..

"Yeah," Bosco replied, glancing out the window and not seeing the look on his friend's face.

"You're not gettin' hung up in your partner, are you?" Billy asked him.

Bosco didn't look back at Billy right away, but pretended to be looking at something across the street.

"Bosco!" Billy said louder.

"What? No! I mean..., she's my partner. I just wanted to know...," he trailed off as Billy interrupted him.

"Boscorelli, I've seen that look on your face only one other time..., and that's when you fell head over heels with that blonde chick -- what was her name? Nicole," he answered is own question.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Bosco grumbled as they headed for the door. Was the sour stomach from the lunch special, or was it from hearing what might be the truth out loud.

As they stepped outside into the afternoon sunshine, Bosco turned to his old friend and shook his hand. "Thanks, Man. It's been too long. We should do this again."

"Yeah, nothing beats an afternoon of hanging out with you and talking about how you're going to screw up your head," Billy teased him.

"Again...," Bosco started to say.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Bite me," Billy finished for him. "Take care Bosco and don't stay away so long next time," he called to him as he crossed the street back toward his precinct.

"Yeah, well the 55th is still in the same location too, my friend." Bosco waved as Billy went inside and waved back at him over his shoulder.

Bosco slowly walked back to his car, letting the sun warm his face as he thought about the story he'd just heard. "Man!", he said, shaking too many thoughts from his head He glanced at his watch and got into his car.

Before he realized it, his car was driving in the direction of his partner's apartment.

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TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

Distraction

Chapter 12

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Bosco pulled up to the curb and got out of the car. He wasn't sure that he should go back up to Meg's apartment and was reasoning with himself that she was all alone and, what if she wasn't doing well on her own, or needed help, or fell... when all of a sudden there was a loud crash and he looked up to see flying shards of glass followed by the large green floor lamp that he recognized as being next to her couch coming from a first floor window.

He ran toward the building and, taking the stairs two or three at a time, was pushing all the doorbell buttons and yelling "Police!" in hopes someone would let him in. Somebody buzzed him in as another object game flying from the broken window in pieces.

He charged down the hallway and tried the doorknob on her door as he heard shouting from inside the apartment. He called to her twice and the only noise he heard was the sound of a fierce struggle behind the door. Just as he backed up and brought his leg up to kick in the door, he heard a shot ring out.

"Riley!" he yelled, grabbing his off-duty gun from his belt and kicking the door, breaking the door jamb away with a loud, booming sound. Another shot rang out and he heard it pass by his head and hit the hallway wall behind him.

Hitting the floor, gun at the ready for whoever had broken into Meg's apartment, he trained his weapon at the person holding the gun - Meg's mother. The woman was frozen with fear as she stared at the weapon trained on her.

"Don't you move," Bosco yelled as he got to his feet without taking his gun away from her position in the apartment.

"Meg!" he yelled out and didn't get a response. "Meg!" he yelled again as he stepped slowly toward Mrs. Riley. He was rewarded with a low groan and out of the corner of his eye saw Meg moving as she tried to sit up.

"Stay there - don't move around," he called to her as he took another step toward her mother. The woman was frozen in place it seemed, with a low moan escaping on her breath. As he took another step toward her and tried to calmly talk to her, it seemed the moan began to grow into a wail that grew louder with each passing second.

"Mrs. Riley, just take it easy. Just put the gun down and step back," Bosco said calmly. The woman quieted but stared at him, almost seeming to see right through him. "Mrs. Riley," Bosco gently called again, taking another step.

"Tommy?" came the weak voice. "Is that you?" she said, tears forming in her eyes and anger starting to rise again. Her hand began to shake as she trained the weapon on Bosco.

"No. It's Maurice Boscorelli. I'm not going to hurt you. Please, just put the gun down and we can figure this all out," Bosco said, trying to remain calm.

"She killed him, Tommy," Mrs. Riley said to Bosco. "He didn't mean to hurt you, he didn't mean to do any of it and now he's dead because of that little witch!" she wailed, referring to Meg.

"No, she was only protecting you. Protecting you and herself from harm. She didn't have a choice. He didn't give her a choice," Bosco said in a calm voice.

Meg looked at Bosco, wondering how he knew that she hadn't had a choice that night.

Mrs. Riley looked at Bosco, still confused. He took another step and saw her stiffen at the closeness of him. She gripped the gun tighter and he was worried that she'd pull the trigger by accident more than on purpose. She stared at him, as if she was trying to figure out what to do.

"Please, no one else has to get hurt," Bosco said gently. He heard a noise to his left as Meg had finally been able to sit up. She fell hard back against the wall for support. Bosco caught sight of a trickle of blood above her eye and a growing stain of blood on her right shoulder.

"Stay still, Meg," he told her, noticing her paleness and labored breathing.

"Mom," Meg said almost inaudibly. "Please, don't do this. It was all so terrible. Please let's not make it worse. Bosco's only trying to help. Tommy's not here. Please put down the gun," she said. She was talking to her mother in an attempt to get her attention off of Bosco, who she obviously thought was Tommy. She didn't want anything to happen to Bosco.

"Worse? Worse? How could it get any worse," Mrs. Riley said, her anger rising again. "You killed your own father!" she yelled, moving the unsteady gun so that it pointed in her direction. "Now, I'm all alone!" she cried out, taking careful aim.

Bosco saw her finger tighten on the trigger and moved to knock the gun off aim as she was about to shoot at Meg. The movement startled Mrs. Riley and she fired just as Bosco reached her. He was able to knock her to the ground, but not before he felt a white hot pain shoot through his side. He looked over to see that Mrs. Riley had passed out after hitting her head on the coffee table while he tried to disarm her. He looked over at Meg to make sure that she hadn't been hit again and heard the sound of sirens in the background as he passed out.

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Bosco awoke to a bright beam of light in his left eye. He felt the oxygen flowing into his nose and mouth from the oxygen mask. He felt a pain in his right arm and tried to pull away, but his arm was held in place.

"Bosco," said Grace as she held his arm down to put in an intravenous line. "It's Grace. You're okay. I'm just checking you over and starting an IV. We'll get you to the hospital in just a minute."

He felt himself being lifted and placed on a stretcher. Looking up at the white ceiling, he tried to remember where he was and what had happened. His memory was jogged when he felt the pain of another pressure bandage being applied to his side.

He tried to sit up, "Meg!" he called out. "Where's Meg?" he asked as he was finally able to focus on the paramedic taking care of him.

"She's okay. She's in Kim's rig already. She's going to be okay, Bosco," she told him, taking time to stop what she was doing and calm her patient down.

"Mrs. Riley?" he asked after Meg's mother.

"Who?" Grace said, confused, as she went about taking care of him.

"Meg's mother. She was here," he said, his breathing labored. He felt himself break out in a cold sweat as he fought to stay awake.

"Well, she wasn't here when we got here," Grace said. "Now, just relax and let's get you to the hospital."

They started to roll the stretcher out toward the hallway and Bosco saw Lt. Swersky coming through the doorway. He was talking to Grace, asking how Bosco was.

"Lieu," Bosco called to him, not being heard the first time. "Lieu," he called out a little louder this time and got his attention.

"Boscorelli, you okay?" he asked Bosco coming over to him.

"Yeah, Lieu. Meg?" Bosco asked.

"She's okay. She's on her way to the hospital. What the hell happened?" Swersky asked his officer.

Bosco let himself fall back against the pillow and take a few breaths. "Man, I wish I knew," he said as Grace interrupted.

"We really have to get him to the hospital," she said as she started to move the stretcher again. Bosco passed out again before they reached the ambulance.

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TBC...


	13. Chapter 13

Distraction

Chapter 13

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Bosco smelled it first - that "sterile" hospital smell. Slowly, he woke more and opened his eyes, looking around the hospital room. His blurry vision saw someone sitting alongside him. He couldn't tell who it was at first, but he knew it was a female, and not a male. Whoever it was, they were looking out the window and not at him.

He tried to clear his throat, but it sounded more like he was choking on something. The result was achieved, however, when the person sitting next to him quickly looked in his direction. His vision began to clear and he realized that it was Meg Riley sitting next to him, a bandage on her forehead and her arm in a sling.

"Bosco, how are you feeling?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"I've been better, but I'm taking it that I'll live?" he said to her.

"Thank God, yes," she answered as she slowly stood and put her hand on his arm. "Let me let the nurse know you're awake," she said. He watched her walk to the doorway and noticed how gingerly she moved.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as she returned to the chair next to him. "Did you get shot?"

"I'll be fine. I got shot, but not the same time as you. It was before you came in," she said. "Just a flesh wound," she finished.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, as the nurse came in, followed by the doctor.

"Officer, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to step out for a moment while we check your partner over," the doctor said to Meg.

"Of course. I'll be right outside," she said to Bosco.

"Thanks," he said as the nurse pulled the curtain around his bed.

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"Well, Officer Boscorelli," the doctor started as he listened to his lungs and heart. The nurse was checking his IV solution and writing down numbers off the monitor that was keeping track of his vital statistics. "I'd say you were pretty lucky today - if getting shot could be considered lucky."

Bosco winced slightly as the bandage covering his side was lifted away from his skin. More wincing as the doctor poked around the area and put a new bandage on.

"Do you remember what happened?" the doctor asked him.

"Umm..., I remember WHAT happened, I'm not so sure I know exactly WHY it happened yet," he said. He and Meg hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it at all. "My partner's okay?" he asked.

"She'll be fine. She just ripped open her earlier stitches. She didn't need stitches to her forehead, but she did receive a gunshot wound to her left shoulder - the bullet just grazed her arm, but she required a couple of stitches there," the doctor reported.

"You, however, will be here for a day or so. The bullet almost made a clean path out, but just knicked your spleen. We're keeping an eye on it, but the wound should heal on its own without any further surgery." the doctor report.

"Thanks," Bosco said, as the nurse gave him some pain medication through his IV.

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Meg heard from the doorway as the doctor informed Bosco of his injuries and updated him on her injuries. She was thankful that he hadn't been hurt more. She never would have been able to forgive herself if he'd died - she wasn't sure she could forgive herself for getting him involved to this level.

She was startled back to reality when the doctor, who had finished examining Bosco and was on his way out the door, said, "You can go back in with him now. But, not for too long - you both could use some rest."

"Thanks, Doc," Meg replied as she watched the doctor continue out and up the hallway. She turned and walked back into the room as the nurse was finishing up the new dressing. She stopped quickly as she took in the sight of him and what good shape he was in. The nurse finished and pulled his blanket back up as Meg gathered her thoughts. Luckily, Bosco hadn't noticed her there right away, so he'd not seen the look of attraction on her face at the sight of him. The nurse picked up her supplies and left.

"Hey," he said to her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, sitting down next to him.

"Well, you look a little flushed. Maybe you should lay down," he suggested. "Are they keeping you overnight?"

She nodded her head. "I hate it here, but I really don't have anywhere else to go," she said sadly.

"Well, you're not going back there," he said firmly.

"Bosco..., I'm so sorry..." she started, but he cut her off.

"For what! It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad that I was there before you really got hurt," he said and saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Has she been like that since your Dad and Tommy died?" he asked her.

She fought the tears that were starting to sting her eyes and nodded her head. "She thinks it's my fault," she said as a tear fell.

He put a hand out to her and she took it. "Well, its not. She's just bitter and sad," he told her.

"Yeah, well..." Meg trailed off.

"I know what happened," he told her.

"I figured by what you were telling my mother at the apartment before..., before she shot you. I'm so sorry for getting you involved," she said, more tears coming now. She hadn't cried in a really long time. "Damn this pain medicine...,"she said, blaming her emotions on the medication. She wiped her tears away.

"Where is your Mom now?" Bosco asked her.

"I have no idea. She wasn't there when the police and paramedics showed up. No one saw her leaving - not that I have great neighbors," she said. "I'm worried about her. Lieutenant Swersky sent a unit by her house and she's not there. I have no idea where else she could be," she said, the worry evident in her voice.

"She'll show up," Bosco told her. "She's probably embarrassed and scared . She'll come home soon and then we can get her some help."

Meg looked at him as if she hadn't heard him right, then said, "Bosco, you've done enough for me. You don't need to get involved in my problems. If you want a new partner, I'll understand," she said, averting her eyes to her lap.

"Whoa, slow down. Who said I wanted a new partner?" he replied quickly.

"Well, I just thought that, after all that's happened...," she started.

"Well, you figured wrong. I think we'd be good together," he said just as another nurse came bounding into the room.

"Officer Riley! That's where you are. You should be back in bed. Are you trying to get me fired? The doctor came looking for you and you were nowhere to be found," the nurse said, helping Meg to her feet.

"Sorry. I just wanted to check on my partner," she said.

"Uh huh," the nurse said, not giving her time to protest. "You should BOTH be getting some rest. You can check on each other again in the morning," she finished as she led Meg out of the room. Meg was looking back helplessly at Bosco over her shoulder and he just gave her a wave.

He heard the elderly nurse scolding Meg all the way down the hallway and chuckled as he settled back against the pillow and fell asleep again.

--------------------------

TBC...


	14. Chapter 14

Distraction

Chapter 14

---------------------------------

Megan was approaching Bosco's hospital room to see how he was doing when he heard the nurse trying to get him on his feet for a little while...

"Ready to get up and take a few steps?" the nurse asked Bosco the next morning as she opened the blinds and let the sunshine into the room.

Bosco groaned at the sudden brightness and the cheery greeting that awoke him. The nurse heard a curse escape Bosco's mouth.

"Well, aren't we grumpy this morning," the nurse replied as Bosco rubbed the sleep from his eyes and started to sit up.

"Ow!" he called out, as his attempt at sitting up pulled at his incision. The quick intake of breath just made him hurt more.

"Take it slow, Officer," the nurse warned him as she came over to help him swing his legs over the side of the bed.

"Let me tell you somethin'..., I'm not goin' anywhere with this get up on!" Bosco grumbled as he put his feet on the floor and the ill-fitting hospital gown showed him from his knees down. He reached around to grab the back of the gown as he felt the draft on his back.

Chuckling, the nurse told him, "Here, just put this other one on as a robe - you're covered. I promise."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he retorted as he heard another voice from just outside the door.

"Don't be such a wuss," came Meg's voice from the hallway. "It's very becoming," she added, hiding a snicker as she reached the doorway.

His mood immediately brightened at the site of Meg. "Oh, and you're quite the fashion statement yourself," he laughed, grimacing at the slight pain the laugh cost him.

"I came to do laps with you, Boscorelli," she said.

"You can TRY to keep up with me," he returned as he started toward the door.

"Whoa, slow down, Officer. This is your first trip out of bed," the nurse cautioned, catching up with him.

"I feel fine," he told her. "I'm outta here today."

"Oh, did the doctor come in already?" Meg asked.

"No, but I'm outta here," he reiterated.

"Me too," Meg agreed. "I hate these places!"

"Gee, thanks," said the nurse, feigning hurt feelings.

"Nothin' personal," they both said in unison.

"Uh huh," the nurse returned as she followed Meg and Bosco down to the end of the hall where there was an area that had seating.

"Can we take a break here for a little while?" Bosco asked the nurse as he felt a little shaky from the walk.

"Sure, but don't go anywhere until I get back. You start walking by yourself and pass out or something, I don't even want to think about the paperwork involved!" the nurse said.

"Promise," Bosco agreed.

------------------------------------------

Meg and Bosco were seated next to each other, watching the comings and goings of the morning bustle on the floor of the hospital. There were orderlies taking patients and bringing them back, meal trays being delivered, medications being disbursed.

"Man, I hate hospitals," Bosco said to fill the silence.

"Ditto," Meg agreed.

"So, any news about your Mom?" Bosco asked her.

"Nothing yet," she said sadly. "I'm worried."

"She'll turn up. So, you're not going back to your apartment, are you?" he asked her.

"Nowhere else to go," she said.

"Well, you can stay at my place," he said as she started to object.

He interrupted her, "Look, you can't go back to your place. Your Mom could show up there again looking for you. She doesn't know where I live," he said.

Meg interrupted, "She doesn't even know who you ARE!" she said laughing sarcastically.

"Well, there is that," Bosco agreed, laughing. "Anyway - I'd feel better knowing that you weren't sitting at your apartment..., I mean, at least I know you'd be safe," he said.

She looked over at Bosco as he stared down the hallway. She felt her heart quicken at the sight of him and a blush come across her cheeks. He started to get up to start the walk back down the hallway.

"I don't know," she said, with uncertainty, standing up alongside him. "You're in no condition to protect me - you can't even keep your ass covered," she teased him.

Bosco grabbed for the back of his hospital gown and realized that she was kidding him. He looked at her and smiled. "Oh, and you do such a good job of taking care of yourself, right?"

They both started walking and after a moment, Bosco offered again, "Well, think on it. The offer is out there. Just promise me that you won't go back to your apartment. Besides, the door's gone, remember?" he said, remembering how he'd kicked it in to get to her.

"For all I know, I've been evicted!" she said. "You know, keep the riff raff out," she said with a smile. Bosco looked over and smiled at her - he'd never seen her with a smile on her face and liked it. Damn, he was attracted to this woman. "I'll probably lose my security deposit because of the damage."

"Yeah, there's a fine, upstanding group living there now!" he said, remembering some of the people he'd passed when he was in the hallways of the building before.

They'd reached Bosco's room and Bosco sat on the edge of the bed, offering the chair to Meg. They both stared at the news on the television, not really seeing it.

After a few moments, Meg suddenly said, "You really do look a lot like him."

"What?" he asked, not sure of what she was talking about and then figuring it out.

"Tommy. You look a lot like Tommy," she said, looking at him. Their eyes caught for a moment.

"Yeah, I noticed," he said. At her look of puzzlement, he added "At your place - when I brought you home from the hospital - I saw the picture on the shelf."

Meg nodded. "So, I have to be honest with you, Bosco," she said, pausing to figure out whether she wanted to get into this now or not.

"Okay," he said, urging her on.

"I'm attracted to you - have been from the first day I met you," she said quickly and looked away hoping she wasn't getting ahead of herself and to hide her blush. But, she'd felt his attraction to her as well - at least she thought that's what it was.

"Um," he said, not sure what to say. He'd been attracted to her right away too.

Quickly, she tried to give him an out. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to let you know that. I'm confused, you know?" she said, looking at him again and seeing the gentleness in his eyes. She saw something other than the tough cop persona that she'd heard about and he'd shown to her from their first meeting.

"No, I was just going to say..., that, um..., look this isn't easy for me. I've never, you know, done this before..., but, I feel..., something too," he finished, taking in her features as she stared at the television again.

After a moment, Meg said, "I just want to make sure that I'm not confusing my feelings for you with missing Tommy. That wouldn't be fair to either one of us," Meg said.

Before Bosco could say anything, the nurse interrupted them.

"Um.., I THOUGHT we had an agreement," she said, and they felt like they were being scolded.

"My fault," Bosco offered. "Riley just went along with it because she's my partner.

"That's right. I watch his ass," she said and they both laughed and grimaced at the pain the laugh caused from their injuries.

"Uh huh. Two comedians - like I don't get enough of that all day. The doctor wants to check you both over. So, we'll start with you, Office Boscorelli. While the doctor is looking you over, I'll take your "ass-watching" partner back to her own room. You know, I swear, I thought I left my kids at home today...," he heard her mumble as she ushered Meg, who was still chuckling, out.

"He can check all he wants, I'm leaving," Bosco called after her like a stubborn child.

Meg snickered, "Oh, suck it up, Boscorelli!"

----------------------------------------------

The Lieutenant walked into Bosco's room just in time to hear Bosco arguing with the doctor. "Doc, I'm tellin' you, I'm not staying here another day. I'm going home, so you might as well sign the discharge orders."

"Is he giving you a hard time, Doc?" asked the Lieutenant.

"Hey, Lieu," Bosco said. "I was just telling the Doc here that I'm fine to go home today."

"Well, Officer. I'd like to have you stay at least one more day, but I can't make you," the doctor told him.

"Thanks, Doc. Hey, Lieu, can you have someone bring my car over here?" Bosco said eagerly.

"Doc, are you sure he should go home? I could just order him to stay here," the Lieutenant offered.

"Lieu!" Bosco argued.

"Thanks, Lieutenant, but I'm afraid I would have my head handed to me if I was responsible for him giving my nurses a hard time," the doctor joked. "Honestly, an extra day would be best, but I have a feeling he'd just leave "against medical advice" anyway. So, as long as you agree to take it very - and I do mean VERY - easy and to have someone with you for the next few days, I don't see why you can't just go home to your own bed. The nurse will come in with your discharge instructions - - - but, no driving yet! And, that is NOT negotiable," the doctor finished.

"I'll have a unit come by in a little while and drive you home," the Lieutenant told him. Your car is safe at the Precinct for now.

"What about Riley," Bosco asked. "Is she going home today too?"

"She's already gone," the Lieutenant answered, not noticing the shocked look on Bosco's face. "Alright, get ready and I'll have a unit swing by in a half hour or so."

The Lieutenant left, leaving Bosco to wonder where Meg had gone.

----------------------------

TBC...


	15. Chapter 15

Distraction

Chapter 15

---------------------------------

Meg had left the hospital before Bosco. She thought about his offer, but just couldn't bring herself to take him up on it. It wasn't that she didn't want to - God knows she is attracted to him. He said he felt the same way, but was he just saying it? She remembered how he looked when they were talking. That was the first time that she'd actually gotten a chance to take a good look at him - other than when she was sitting next to his hospital bed waiting for him to wake up. She could see it in his eyes, he wasn't as tough as he'd like people to believe he was. Tommy was the same way, but she knew.

A noise outside her broken door brought her back to the present moment. Her landlord had repaired the door for her the best he could for now. She'd have to pay for it, but he had someone coming the next day to install a new door. Surprisingly, he wasn't as upset about it as she thought he'd have been. She apologized when he'd come to give her the amount of the repairs, and he shrugged saying, "It happens."

Now, she approached the door cautiously - who knew who might be trying to get into the apartment what with the damaged door and all. For all anyone knew, it was an abandoned apartment and someone might be trying to find a free home. She listened for a moment and the noise she heard sounded like it was coming from low on the door, as if someone was sitting against it on the floor.

"Who's there?" she called through the door, her hand pushed against the door to prevent anyone from pushing it in - - as if she'd have the strength to stop them she thought to herself. She heard nothing but a moan.

"I said, 'Who's there?'," she repeated louder. Again, she was rewarded with a very quiet moan. She tried to look through the peephole, but she couldn't see anything. She listened for a moment and decided that she'd try to open the door a crack to see who was there. "Probably some degenerate passed our cold," she thought to herself as she turned the knob on the shaky door.

She allowed the weight of who or whatever was against the door to push the door open only a crack. She peeked through the opening and was shocked to see who lay on the floor on the other side.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Bosco was home, having been given a ride by one of the officers that the Lieutenant had sent over. The Officer helped him up the stairs and asked if he needed anything. Bosco thanked him and sent him on his way, locking the door behind him. He gingerly walked over to the answering machine and saw that he'd had a few messages waiting for him. He pushed the button to play the messages as he grabbed the cordless phone and walked over to sit on the couch and catch his breath.

The first message was from Faith telling him to let her know if he needed anything. The second message was from his mother, scolding him for not telling her he was coming home today. She told him that she'd be over after work to check on him, but that he should call her if he needed anything.

The third message brought his attention away from the small stack of mail that he was going through. It was from Meg.

"Bosco. Hi, its me. Just wanted to let you know that I thought about your offer and thanks, but I think it would be too weird right now. I mean, after our talk and all. I just, well, I just want to make sure is all. I'm okay. I'm at my apartment. The landlord actually fixed the door - at least good enough until the new one is installed tomorrow - so I'll be fine. So, um, you have my number. Give me a call if you need anything..., or if you just want to talk. Bye."

Bosco put the mail down and picked up the phone.

------------

"Mom!" Meg called out, as she let the door fully open and caught her mother as she fell back against her legs. She didn't answer.

"Mom!" Meg screamed again as she knelt down alongside her and shook her. She got no response and got up to get the phone and call for help.

Just as she reached for the phone, she almost dropped the phone when she was startled by the ringing. She pushed button and said frantically into the phone, "Hello!"

"Meg, its Bosco. What's wrong?" Bosco asked, hearing the panic in her voice.

"Um..., its my Mom...," she said haltingly.

"Meg, are you okay? Is she there?" he asked, getting up off the couch and reaching for his coat by the door. He turned to the table to reach for his car keys as he simultaneously held the phone between his ear and shoulder. The keys weren't there and then he remembered that his car was still at the House.

"Yeah, she's here, but she's sick or..., I don't know what. I have to call an ambulance!" she said quickly into the phone and hung up.

Bosco listened to the dial tone in his ear. "Dammit" he yelled as he dialed the House to get his car returned to him. When he was told there was no one available to do it just then, he angrily hung up the phone and headed downstairs to hail a taxi. Taking the stairs to quickly, he felt the pain in his side as he pushed himself to continue.

-------------

Bosco pulled up in a cab just as Kim and Carlos were bringing the stretcher out to the ambulance. He threw some money at the driver and told him to wait for a minute. Getting out of the cab, he met Meg at the back of the ambulance as her mother was being loaded into the ambulance. She looked terrible and the serious look on Kim's face did not escape his notice.

"How is she? What happened?" he asked Meg.

Meg didn't even realize that someone other than the ambulance crew were there until she felt someone pulling her away from the view of her mother. She tried to break the grip, but was unable. Looking at who was pulling at her, she realized that Bosco was there.

"Bosco! I don't know what's wrong," she said, her nerves getting the better of her. "I heard this noise outside my door. I opened the door a crack and she was laying on the floor against the door. I couldn't wake her up. I don't know what's wrong with her," she repeated.

"OK. You go with her in the ambulance. I'll follow you over to the hospital and meet you inside," he told her. "I'll be right there. Don't worry, your Mom's in good hands," he assured her, glancing up at Kim who was giving him a "don't count on much" look.

He helped Meg into the ambulance and then returned to the cab to follow them in. He called the House to get a message to the Lieutenant that Meg's mother had been found and was on her way to the hospital.

-------------

TBC...


	16. Chapter 16

1Chapter 16

--------------------------

Meg watched as the medics worked on her mother. She hadn't made a sound since the ambulance had arrived. She watched as IVs were established, oxygen was administered and contact was made with the hospital via the radio. Kim was fervently working on administering the medications that had been ordered by the ER doctor over the radio.

Meg took a moment to notice the overall appearance of her mother. She was filthy, her clothes were wet and torn in places, she had clumps of hair missing from her scalp and bruises were visible under the dirt on her face, neck and arms. She looked like she'd taken quite a beating.

"Is she okay? Is she going to be okay?" Meg asked Kim in almost a whisper.

Kim looked up from what she was doing for a moment and said, "I'm not sure, but she's in pretty serious condition. You have no idea where she's been?"

Meg shook her head, "None."

Just then, the heart monitor started making a bunch of sounds that couldn't be good and she saw Kim start to pick up the pace of what she'd been doing. "Carlos, where are we?" she called to the front.

"About 1 minute," Carlos called back as the sound on the cardiac monitor became a solid tone and there were no more spike marks on the screen.

"We need to be there now!" yelled Kim as she grabbed for the defibrillator paddles and prepared to shock the woman's heart.

Meg held her breath as the ambulance came to a screeching halt in front of the emergency room and Kim applied the electric shock simultaneously.

---------------------------------

Bosco willed the driver of the taxi to move faster. He saw the ambulance start to pick up speed just before they'd reached the hospital and knew that it couldn't be good news.

"Please, hurry!" he urged the driver again.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," the driver sneered back at him as he slowed to pull into the entrance. He barely had the taxi stopped when Bosco threw some cash in his direction and exited the cab.

He hobbled as fast as he could to the ER entrance and saw Kim sitting on the top of the gurney doing CPR as Carlos followed with the equipment and a couple of nurses and a doctor wheeled Meg's mother through the doors with Meg close behind.

He caught up to her as the nurses whisked her mother away into an exam room and pulled a curtain around the stretcher.

"Meg," he called to her as he reached her side. "How is she?"

Meg just stared at the curtain as if she could see through it and slowly shook her head. Bosco looked at her and saw the wetness of her eyes as they brimmed with tears that she somehow willed not to fall.

"C'mon, let's sit down over here. They'll know to come look for you over here," he said, taking her by the elbow and leading her to a chair.

They looked on as nurses and doctors flitted in and out of the room, bringing equipment in and out. Kim and Carlos came out of the curtained area with their stretcher and equipment. They wheeled it to the side and Carlos left to get replacement supplies, while Kim made up the stretcher with fresh linens. Kim glanced over at Bosco and Meg didn't see the slight shake of Kim's head indicating to Bosco that the news probably wasn't going to be good. Bosco felt a hard lump form in the pit of his stomach as he wondered how Meg would handle the news if her mother didn't make it. She already blamed herself for the woman's recent problems as well as her husband's and father's deaths. "You've really got yourself in it this time, Boscorelli," he thought to himself as he felt the urge to distance himself fight with the desire to stay right next to Meg. The desire to remain won out.

------------------------------

About forty-five minutes after they'd brought her mother into that room beyond the curtain, Meg and Bosco watched as a doctor and nurse came out and looked around the waiting room. Bosco stood up to signal to them that they were who the two were looking for. Meg couldn't bring herself to stand up.

As the doctor reached them, he quietly asked, "Are you with Mrs. Shelley?"

Because a lump had formed in her throat, she was unable to speak as she slowly stood. Bosco put a hand on her back and answered for her.

"Let's sit down," the doctor said, noticing how wobbly Meg was. Neither one of them looked that sturdy to him.

After they sat, the doctor pulled his chair in front of them and sat down. "Well, as you know, your Mom was in pretty serious condition when she arrived here. We found that she had sustained at least one beating and it appears that she had been sexually assaulted as well," he stated as sympathetically as he could.

Bosco was watching Meg while he listened to the doctor and saw tears well up in her eyes. He reached over to hold her hand and her grip tightened around his hand as a tear fell.

"I'm afraid that her injuries, along with her physical condition prior to the assaults, left her without much resolve to fight back. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to save your mother and she has died. I'm very sorry," the doctor finished.

More tears fell from Meg's eyes and Bosco moved closer to her, putting his arm on her back as the doctor waited for what he had just told her to sink in.

After a moment, he continued, "Would you like to see your Mom..., say 'good bye?'" Meg was only able to nod her head slightly. It seemed to Bosco that she hadn't even taken a breath since the doctor told her that her mother had died and he rubbed her back a little to assure her that he was still there.

"The nurses are just finishing up and then they'll come and get you. If you have any more questions, or need anything, I'll be here," the doctor said standing up. "Again, I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Meg managed, finally letting the breath she'd been holding out. She sat back against the chair and Bosco turned in his seat to keep his eyes on her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lieutenant Swersky walking through the ER doors.

"Meg?" he said quietly. She looked over at him, but she didn't really seem to be seeing him.

"I'm going to talk to the Lieutenant for a second. I'll be right over here, okay?" he said. She just nodded and looked back toward the curtained gurney that held her mother. She saw the nurses' feet as they moved around her mother, probably unhooking all of the equipment they'd used trying to revive her.

Bosco stepped away from Meg toward the Lieutenant and let out a deep sigh.

"How's her mother?" the Lieutenant asked, looking at Meg.

"She's dead, Boss," Bosco told him, as if he couldn't have figured that out from Meg's expression.

"Do we know what happened?" he asked.

"Um..., not really. The doctor said that it looked like she'd been beaten and that there was evidence of sexual assault," Bosco explained. "They're just cleaning her up so Meg can go in and see her."

"Okay. We're going to need a statement about what happened," the Lieutenant told Bosco. "I'll have a unit take you both home when she's done here and the detectives can follow-up with her then."

"Sure. I'll tell her," Bosco said as the nurses came out from her mother's room and walked toward Meg. "I'm gonna see if she wants me to go in with her," he said, turning and walking toward Meg.

"I'll be at the desk when you're done," Swersky told him as he walked away.

"Ms. Shelley?" asked one of the nurses.

"Riley," Meg replied vacantly. "She's my mother."

"Oh, sorry. Well, you can go in if you'd like. Take as much time as you need," the young nurse told her.

"Thanks," Meg replied, taking a couple of steps and stopping.

"Hey," Bosco said at her side. "You want me to come in with you?"

"No, I've got to do this alone," Meg replied. She took a few steps toward the room and turned back toward him. "You'll wait?"

"Absolutely," he told her and watched her walk past the curtained area. He let out a breath he didn't know HE'D been holding when the curtain closed.


End file.
